• They crisscross the globe, exciting the locals and dispensing wisdom. The people who held the reins of power and never seem to completely let go. There's Bill Clinton, doing his rock-star politics. And, touchdown, there's Tony Blair. He was in Los Angeles the other day, invited to speak by former Mexican president Vicente Fox. Fox has a charity, Centro Fox, which does a lot of work in LA. Despite holding opposing views on the Iraq invasion, the two are now good buddies. Very good buddies. Amazingly, Blair wasn't paid. The pair sat fielding questions ranging from the Iraq war to immigration and education and the audience loved the former Labour leader. How does he do it? A clue perhaps in the oddments carried from the plane as he arrived in Los Angeles. He was preceded by a man carrying two bananas and a crate of fresh coffee. He needs the "potassium and caffeine" fix after every flight, a flunkey explained.

• Rare to see New Labour's other history man, Gordon Brown, at Westminster. But if he will not speak his wisdom from the Commons, we may savour him as portrayed on the political stage. Heading for the London theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe and Labour conference is The Confessions of Gordon Brown, a play by the Emmy-nominated writer Kevin Toolis that promises to expose "the darkest secrets of being prime minister, the stab-in-the-back plotting, the betrayals and, most importantly – the hair gel." To replicate the spirit of Gordon's time in office, the lights would go out and the curtain would fall down.

• A simple question, but no answer from Doncaster, where the authority, with new Labour mayor Ros Jones, is trying to move forward after the ousting of rightwing anti-political correctness superhero Peter Davies. Last week we told how, under his mayoralty, letters were sent to complainants justifying cuts in grant aid to minority groups in the name of Nadeem Murtuja, then the most senior minority officer in the authority. Only he didn't really sign the letter. In a letter, the council has said: "We wish to make it clear that this was not a decision taken by the signatory of the letter, Nadeem Murtuja. In fact his electronic signature was inserted to the letter without his consent." Which could mean a lot of things: that he wasn't around to ask or that his electronic signature was appended by mistake. What should we make of community claims that the letter was sent after Murtuja had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with it, and that the electronic signature appended was not one supplied by him. "The council has no comments to make on this matter," a spokesman told us. Which is understandable, for it is looking forward not back. But if there is a culprit here, one hopes they aren't escaping without penalty.

• Eventually, say those who know her, culture secretary Maria Miller will win the love of the artistic community. But according to the Stage newspaper, it hasn't happened yet. Equity president Malcolm Sinclair has been considering the minister's call for the arts to make an economic case. "To criticise us for not doing what we have been precisely and exhaustively doing, is at least foolish – even idiotic – and at worst contemptible," said Sinclair. "The minister has made an ass of herself." Ah, well, Rome wasn't built in a day.

• Finally, with all the changes in the established church, still there remains a place for tradition and iconography. Witness the Twitter discussion this weekend led by the bishop of Dudley, the Right Rev David Walker. "Enjoying sunshine at Bristol VegFest, surrounded by vegans, feeling seriously under-tattooed," noted the bish. "What sort of tattoos do bishops go in for," asked Meg Gilley. "Cherubim and seraphim? Your own diagrammatic explanation of the Holy Trinity? A whole iconostasis of the communion of saints?" None seems quite right. The bish goes coy. "That would be telling. But what would you recommend?" Recommendations do come in, and he mulls them over, for the bish well understands the importance of symbols. "Lad I'm burying this week had ex girlfriend tattoo crossed out with 's*** happens'," tweets Miranda T-Holmes, vicar of Belmont and Pittington in Durham. Probably not the bish's first choice.